Lil Kiwi test results and a family in need of prayers

Update time.....

I always get nervous when I post updates... You know that every time I post them we always get some bad news after; however, it has been long enough that I am hoping there is no new news.... So here it goes...

Lil Kiwi had her scans done back in January but had to wait until her appointment with Dr. V in February to find out the results. There was a problem with the insurance company (again) so we were fighting with them, the base doctor and Dr. V's office up until one hour before her appointment. I called to make sure everything was okay literally on the drive to the appointment. Seriously, I wish there was a point A to point B with insurance because dealing with them would make any sane person crazy.

Anyway....

Dr. V told us he is very happy with what he saw and was impressed with how well she is doing. Her kidney is getting a tad smaller than it was; which is good and bad. Dr. V said it's possible that it's not getting smaller just that she is growing and it is not. So something else to keep an eye on. He also said that this new scan showed some new issues. *sigh* The new scans are showing that Lil Kiwi appears to have several wee spleen nodules. So, no left kidney but extra bits of spleen. Dr. V assured us that while this isn't anything to be worried about that it is something that we are going to need to watch. Currently they are fine but depending on what we find in the future and all that fun stuff they could pose a problem down the road. Just like her mystery bone. (click here for a photo of it ) Adding one more thing to the ever growing medical conditions list we have for Lil Kiwi.

We asked him about the Wilms Tumors ,even though it was the Geneticist that requested that test, and Dr. V said that there were no finding of any in this scan. *happy dance* Several questions later and we were talking about Lil Kiwi's spine again. He is still very concerned and wants another scan done but this time he said he is going to make sure to write a very detailed script so that the correct test is done. See why I LOVE Dr. V.... He is also going to write a letter to Lil Kiwi's PCM (primary care manager... ie her main peds doctor) and tell her what he wants to see done because she needs to be doing more for Lil Kiwi. At this I must laugh because she doesn't care one way or the other since she is a civilian doctor that works at a military base. No I am not guessing here we actually have this talk every time I need her to do something or order a test. She flat out tells me all she will do is check ups and shots (which she doesn't even give) because she has too many other patients to deal with. Makes me wonder how doctors that have their own practice(s) with more clients find time to "deal with" them. Rambling again sorry.... Just errrrrr she gets my blood boiling...

So, in August Lil Kiwi will now be having three tests done. The good news is I have the script in my pretty little hands.. okay it's actually locked up in her medical file in the sealed bag I keep them in but I digress.... The bad news is............

We finally found out that we will be moving in July to a new base. You might remember me mentioning it back in December. Well, we were suppose to be moving next month but we got approved for a delay until July. Which means Wee Man gets to finish out the school year here. DH is still trying to figure out a way to stay here (since all her specialists are here) or to be stationed somewhere that has a closer hospital. The children's hospital that we would have to go to is over 90 miles away. So, almost as soon as we get there we will be relaying Lil Kiwi's medical history to all new doctors. The good news is that Dr. V said the children's hospital is a very good one.

Which brings me to another Shenanigans member that has updates. Last month CutiePie went in for the first of several surgeries and I asked for positive thoughts.  Then a few days later I updated you about her surgery and said there were a few complications but didn't give any more information. I can now tell you that CutiePie is good and is back home with her family. She doesn't have to have any more tests done right now and her next surgery is in six err five months now; actually I think it is also in August but not sure. Thank you to everyone that sent out prayers and positive thoughts for CutiePie.

Which also brings me to this last favor. If you do not already know about wee Layla Grace you should visit her site and see what a beautiful child she is. However, before you do that say a prayer... send out the positive thoughts that helped us each time we needed them because Layla Grace and her family need them. Pray for her to be comfortable and pain free....

Need positive thoughts and why is the roof flying off

So much to post about and so little time. Honestly this past week flew by in the blink of an eye or at least part of it did. The first few days seemed to take forever because Wee Man got out early Friday and then had Monday, Tuesday AND Wednesday OFF!!! It was another important the teachers have something they have to do so give all the kids the week off..... Yeah they have a lot of them here. In fact, they have holidays off and three day weekends that I have never heard of before. Of course, that also means that summer time is only one month long before school starts again but I digress....

Yesterday part of the roof flew off. We had some horrid wind for the better part of the day. So, yesterday morning it was rainy, windy and all around yucky... Things were flying around the porch from the wind and then the wind-chime fell down and shattered. When it eased up I looked at the front lawn and there were a few of the shingles from the roof. I'm hoping there are not going to be leaks before we fix it because the forecast for the week is rain and snow.. Yippee...

Moving along...

I have a ton to write about but right now I wanted to ask for some positive thoughts from everyone. A few months ago I posted about how DH's cousin had a baby girl that also has some medical issues and was going to need a few surgeries. We knew the time for her surgeries were coming up but didn't realize that the first was taking place this week. I'm not sure which day since I got the information via DH who got it from FIL (and you know how third hand information is) however, I know it is sometime this week.

CutiePie is just shy of seven months old and going in for her first surgery of several. It's serious stuff.... If I remember correctly (and FIL if I am wrong please let me know) CutiePie has Craniosynostosis. Craniosynostosis is a congenital (present at birth) defect that causes one or more sutures on a baby's head to close earlier than normal.

To have this surgery CutiePie and her family are having to drive from one major city to the next one which is about four hours away. This means that they will be away from the comforts of home (having to staying in hotels) and away from the rest of the family. Something like this is always difficult but I can not imagine how hard it must be for all of them right now.

It is not my place to go into details about CutiePie's surgery (not that I have them anyway) but I wanted to ask if everyone could send some positive thoughts or prayers her way. Such a sweet thing should not have to endure what she is going to be.

To the rest of the Shenanigans family and CutiePie,

You will be in our thoughts and hearts this week. Be strong and know that you are loved.

May God grant you always...
A sunbeam to warm you,
A moonbeam to charm you,
A sheltering angel, so nothing can harm you.

The Shenanigans....

Lil Kiwi Recheck and More

Several things happened today.. Some GREAT and some well not so good but I'm too happy to let the other stuff get me down today... I was able to get Lil Kiwi's PCM to agree to give us a referral for a second opinion... So, tomorrow I get to call and see how long before we can get an appointment.. SWEET....

I have even more good news..

Today, we officially got the word that Lil Kiwi's surgery back in June was a success. *doing the happy dance* Which also means NO MORE DAILY MEDICINE!!!! Since 6 weeks old everyday Lil Kiwi had to have her medicine but no more... *happy dance*
Words can not describe how elated I am.... In fact, the other possible problem isn't even an issue really... Dr. V said that now she will always be at risk for infections and that we have to be extra watchful.... No biggie... I am already a watchful hawk when it comes to Lil Kiwi... *pausing to do another happy dance*

Can you tell how excited I am!!!

However, there was also some not so good news... BAH Dang it... I took the x-rays of the mystery bone in for Dr. V to see... He asked what Dr. D had said about Lil Kiwi's spine... Huh? Well, she was more focused on her hips and that bone... Well, it turns out he thinks he sees some serious issues with it and told me he was glad we were getting a second opinion... Then he proceeded to say he was going to write a letter to Lil Kiwi's PCM telling her that she needs to get more imagining done on Lil Kiwi.... He also told me which Dr. would have the best chance of knowing what to do with Lil Kiwi's extra bone and spine... Have I mentioned before how much I really like Dr. V...

Lil Kiwi Medical Wonder or Medical Mystery

So, on Wednesday we headed into town to see a new specialist. Our PCM (primary care manager ie. Military doctor) couldn't decide if Lil Kiwi needed to see an Orthopedic or a Genetics Doctor so she left it up to the Orthopedic Doctor (we will call her Dr. D) to decide. How nice right.. Can you feel the love...
Anyway....Here is how the day went...

• Leave at 8:30am and get to the Hospital around 10:00...
• Problem with insurance and the hospital
• Several phone calls and a lot of waiting but get it taken care
• Finally get to see Dr. D at about noon...
• She looked and listened..
• Then it was off to take some X-Rays...
• Return and have X-rays looked at..
• Hear "Aaaaa" from the Dr. D (this is never a good thing)
• Talk about the results (the good ones and the bad ones)
• Confirm that more tests are needed (including CT scan)
• Confirm that a Genetics visit is needed
• Leave hospital around 3:00pm and head home

What are the results from the X-rays? Well, we now know that I'm not crazy and there is something wrong with Lil Kiwi's body and skeletal system... The X-rays showed something that the Orthopedic Specialist has never SEEN or HEARD of before... (deep breath to keep head from swimming)

Yes, you read that correctly.... Lil Kiwi has a medical issue that hasn't been seen by this hospital which specializes in this area... Dr. D isn't sure exactly how to proceed minus more tests and seeing where to go from there... I was going to try and take pictures of the x-rays but honestly I don't have the heart to look at them right now....

I've already got the appointment with the "insurance approved" Genetics Doctor for the end of September (that being the soonest they can see us) ... My PCM still hasn't called me back after all my calls but then again she never does... However, Monday I have an appointment for Wee Man with her so she will get an earful from me...

Oh and Thursday we had Lil Kiwi's VCUG and ultrasound done... It was the first time we had been to this Hospital and it was actually a very nice visit... While in the waiting room Lil Kiwi had almost everyones attention and when we were called back half the waiting room was waving and saying goodbye to her... She has that aura about her...

Thursday was also the first time I have ever gotten a "shocked" look about Lil Kiwi's physical issues... Just after the VCUG test we were getting her redressed and the towel that was around her fell down... I heard a "gasp" and looked over to one of the nurses that had been helping... She stood there with her mouth open and fixed eyes on Lil Kiwi... I smiled and said "Yes Lil Kiwi has a few other issues as well... her tushie is just one of them"... She blinked a few times and then nodded and walked back to the lab area...

Unofficially, the results are that the surgery worked and no more reflux (YEAH!) .... However, there is still another problem (maybe) ... We don't find out officially until her recheck appointment in September with Dr. V... Until then we wait...

La De Freaking Da

I'm not even sure where to start..... Do I start by screaming how much I dislike my insurance company (and no I can't change it )... Or how worried I am about what we may or may not find out about Lil Kiwi... Or about how some people are just plain idiotic at times... Yes, this might be a rage filled rambling ranting vent... Yes, it will have misspelling, grammatical errors and incomplete sentences... Just thought I should warn you in advance...

When I was pregnant with Lil Kiwi it was discovered that she was missing a kidney, had a Single umbilical artery (SUA), and seemed quite happy to be born sunny side up (thankfully she decided not to moon the Drs. and turned the last few weeks)... This all meant that I was getting ultrasounds left and right and getting appointments with specialist so that we would know what was going to happen IF there was a problem at birth... Twice I was placed on monitors because her heart beat was "odd" and they just wanted to be sure she was fine... On my due date I was once again placed on the monitor and they decided to induce because she was stressed... She was out in 3 pushes and then we knew why she was stressed... The SUA cord was three times the normal length and was wrapped around her neck TWICE.... Lil Kiwi told the Dr just what she though of the situation by peeing on her.. LOL

Continuing... So, yada yada yada more appointments... Find more medical issues... Surgery for her grade 5 urinary reflux... You should remember all about that and if not please feel free to read tushie cocktail , the awakening , the thing in room 13 , home sweet home because it was quite entertaining and the pictures from WW Silly Kiwi are priceless.. That brings us up to this month... I had an appointment for her VCUG to make sure the surgery worked and they called a week before to tell me the Dr was going on vacation and I would have to reschedule.. They only do this test on Tuesdays and the next available one was September so I would have to wait until then... I explained that I had this appointment for two months and NOW they call to cancel and that I can not do September because the test has to be done within so many weeks of the surgery... They called the Dr and she told them she would come in on Weds 12 to do it... Score... Or so I thought...

Tuesday 11 I get a call asking if I had all the correct papers for the VCUG... Of course I did... Then they said oh not those papers these papers... Huh what? They never needed anything before... It's a new office policy... Great... So, from 9 in the morning until 2 in the afternoon I was on the phone with three offices and my insurance company... None of them could do this or that or had no clue what I was talking about... Then from piecing together all the details I was getting I finally figured out the problem... That "NEW POLICY" wasn't a policy... They were bought out and the new owners don't take my insurance... ARGGHHH If the girl would have just SAID that the first time; I wouldn't have wasted all the time... So, now I was calling around trying to find a place (that take my insurance) that could do the tests this week or next week because they have to be done no later than next week... I had to use my magic and now have an appointment for next Thursday... Thank goodness

So, I had to cancel two appointments and reschedule them for after the test is done... Now, I have a Dr appointment Monday, Lil Kiwi was one on Tuesday, Wednesday and now Thursday, Wee Man has one the following Monday, and then we have school meetings and school starts... I'm stressing big time and now DH is going to be gone all September... Plus, we just found out that Lil Kiwi might have even more medical issues... Thus, all the appointments.... I won't even get started on how Target messed up my prescription and then got all mad at me... Or how it's been raining cats and dogs almost everyday... On top of allllll this; we just found out that our cousin had a baby girl last week and that she has medical issues and will be having 3-4 surgeries before she is 6 months old... Honestly, it's all I can do to not pack up and go hide in the mountains for a week or two...

Wow, I needed that ramble... I'm sorry because it probably doesn't make sense but I just needed to get it out of my system... You know what... I do feel better... Thank you to those that understand and gave me warm thoughts and hugs (I really needed them)

An Apple II

Here is the update for the appointment today with Dr. V... Somehow we were in and out of the office in 15 minutes; including waiting room time... He thinks that Lil Kiwi's surgical site looks good and gave us the paperwork to get her VCUG done... Whew!

Lil Kiwi remembers him because as soon as she saw him come towards her it was all dirty looks and evil eyes... Oh dear...

So, now tomorrow I have to call and get a date for the VCUG for sometime in August... Then wait until the next follow-up appointment to see if the surgery worked... Normally, the results of the VCUG aren't known until you go see your doctor; however, the staff and I are pretty close now and I get an "un"official report right then... Also it doesn't hurt that I know how to read x-rays and ultrasound...

An Apple A Day...

So, today is Lil Kiwi's recheck appointment with Dr. V... We will sit for up to an hour in the waiting room (it has never been less) and then see him for all of 10-15 minutes if that... I am hoping that today he looks at her and thinks the surgical site looks fine and gives us the okay to get the last test done... Then I can schedule her last VCUG for later this month or early next month... This test will let us know whether or not the surgery worked...

I am worried... Lil Kiwi has been more moody than normal lately... Plus she has been doing a strange sitting shuffle thing and crying... UTI???? Teething??? just being a baby??? I don't know...

Her surgical site looks good but is a little more hard and puffy than I would like... but then again I'm not a doctor...

It was a long night for Lil Kiwi and myself... She was in a uncontrollable crying fit last night so I took her to get some sleep... Only she wouldn't sleep... She would lay or sit in the crib and be quiet... as long as I was laying on the bed... So from 7 pm to about 10pm it was like being back at the hospital... No sleeping but just peaceful quietness.. If I tried to take her out of the crib she would get upset.. No clue... No idea what was going on... Even after Lil Kiwi was asleep she was moving about...

Okay now I feel like I'm rambling... Thus, I will end this post here and will update later tonight or tomorrow with what Dr V. tells us.....

Wordless Wednesday - Silly Kiwi

Hospital stay..... $9,999
Parking... $40
Medication... $800
Lil Kiwi realizing the top of crib is plastic... Priceless

*missed the story? read more about her trip to the hospital in tushie cocktail , the awakening , the thing in room 13 , and home sweet home *

Lil Kiwi Surgery Part IV - Home Sweet Home

After receiving that snazzy yellow sock to keep Lil Kiwi from chewing on her IV, it was time for the night nurse shift change... For about an hour Lil Kiwi was fussy and rolling all over her crib in what looked like an attempt to get comfortable... Since this was the first time I couldn't comfort her; I decided it was finally time to give her some pain killers... Up to this point she didn't once seem to be in pain so we hadn't given her any... The nurse came in and gave me the medicine to give Lil Kiwi (apparently the other nurses had already informed her of Lil Kiwi's wonderful attitude)... About fifteen minutes later and it was peaceful in room 13... Sleep had finally come...

Sleep for both of us... well, for about an hour that is... The nurse came in to do her check up and when she pulled the yellow sock off it was suddenly clear what had been the problem... Lil Kiwi's IV was bad... All the fluids were building up under her skin and her arm was swollen... No wonder she was chewing at it because that had to have hurt...

Ooo see the evil look I was getting...

Luckily, the nurse caught it before it got really bad and convinced them not to put another one it.. It turns out that the IV wasn't put in very well and was leaking the whole time; thus why it was wet sometimes... Lil Kiwi wasn't happy about all the pain and the nurses messing with her... However, as soon as everyone was gone, Lil Kiwi slept... I don't mean she napped I mean full on deep sleep... She even barely fussed when a nurse came in to take vitals in the wee morning hours...

This was the position she stayed in for the next four hours... At 0600 hours the checkup doctors came and then the nurses for vitals and then more doctors... Dr. V came in and after hearing all she had been though took the last tubes out... Let me say that made for one very happy Lil Kiwi... I decided to take her for a outing so we got dressed and headed out... It was amazing how happy she was and as soon as we were outside in the hall she was smiling... The nurses couldn't believe this was the same little girl from room 13... This little girl was smiling, friendly and not screaming... Of course, when anyone else walked by they got the evil eyes and pursed lip look hehehee... So wish I had a picture of that look...

We headed over to the playroom and had some fun time.... However, her hand was still swollen so we had to head back to room 13 and put some heat on it...

Lil Kiwi wasn't happy about that so she tried to chew it off also... Of course, all the chewing could also be because at the time she had three teeth coming in..

It was about 1400 hours before we were finally allowed to leave the hospital... All of us were happy to be home and finally get some sleep... Only problem now is that Lil Kiwi is having some issues with sleeping and always wanting to be held... I understand but I also hope this doesn't become a habit...

She has her check up the second week in July and then we have to do another VCUG... If the tests show no more issues she will no longer be on daily medication... *doing the happy dance* All we would have to do is keep an eye on her and have more doctor appointments than normal... Otherwise, Lil Kiwi is recovering wonderfully and hopefully this will be the only surgery she will need... *knocks on wood*

For Wordless Wednesday I will be posting pictures of Lil Kiwi when she was being silly; so be sure to check them out this WW...

If you missed the other posts about her surgery you can read part I here , part II here and part III here ... and once again thank you to everyone for the warm wishes and prayers...

Lil Kiwi Surgery Part III - The Thing in Room 13

So, first there was the tushie cocktail followed by the awakening and now Lil Kiwi was to stay three days in the depths of room 13...

As soon as all the nurses had finally left the room DH and Wee Man brought up my bags full of Lil Kiwi's things... We set things up to make her as comfortable as possible... Looking at my sleeping bench I hoped I would be able to get some sleep on it (little did I know it wouldn't matter anyway)... DH and Wee Man decided to head for home since it was getting late and it looked like it would storm... In fact, it rained so hard they had to stop several times before they even got to the house...

So there I was standing next to Lil Kiwi's crib and not a sound could be heard but rain falling; that is, until I tried to go sit on my bed...

"AWWWWWWW AWWWWWWWW"

Okay... take two steps back and silent once again.. hmm one step away from bed..

"AWWWWWWW AWWWWWWW"

Okay... Apparently, I was not allowed to move from her side... Understandable... The nurse on duty felt bad for me so she brought a chair for me to sit in next to the crib... Ooo no... Lil Kiwi would have none of that... I wasn't allowed to sit on the chair... She would only be calm and quiet if I was standing next to the crib... I remember thinking about how I was worried about the bed being comfortable.. *sigh* (she did finally allow me to sit several hours later)

However, she would also scream if she so much as heard the door open... It didn't matter who or what they were doing; if they came in they were greeted by "AWWWWW AWWWWW" .... Keep in mind that for the first 24 hours they come in almost every hour to monitor or check the IV lines... Oh joy... It was so bad that by the last day one of the nurses REFUSED to even come in the room because she didn't want to get screamed at... Everyone down to the cleaning lady dreaded coming into the room and the wrath of Lil Kiwi... She might be small but that little girl has a powerful aura...

There was no sleeping either... Lil Kiwi would lay there looking at me... play and cuddle with Cuski... look at purple guy... watch the door for signs of "those" people... If by chance her eyes did close her ears didn't... The first click of the door and "AWWWWW AWWWWWW" ... The nurses swore they thought we were always sleeping because it was so quiet in the room until they touched the door... The bags under my eyes told otherwise... This was pretty much how it was until about 0130 hours when she decided she wanted more of her apple juice (which she hates) ... All was fine until she burped and juice came flowing out... *sign* I tried to hold her and reach the call button on the other side of the crib... A nurse came to help change sheets and told me there was a washer that I could wash her Cuski and blanket in.. Great...

Wrong... Least we forget the I am not allow to even go to the bathroom or sit without Lil Kiwi getting upset... However, I figured I would try anyways because it should only be a few minutes right... *sigh* Jogged around the corner and threw stuff in the washer and jogged back to room.. Whew I was maybe two minutes IF that... I returned to a screaming Lil Kiwi and a crib with blood all over it... WHAT THE HOLY DOUBLE HOCKEY STICKS!!!!!

*push button push button* "There's blood in her crib I think she pulled her IV out" (now you remember that picture in the awakening about her IV)

Thirty minutes later.... clean sheets... no more IV in foot... and the nurses swearing she is the cutest evil little devil they have ever met... Lil Kiwi was once again in her crib with me by her side... Only I still had to get her stuff in the dryer and then after that get her stuff out of the dryer and back to the room... *oh dear* Somehow, I was able to get that all done without Lil Kiwi doing anything else to herself...

Of course, she still needed an IV so they tried to get one in her arm.. That was a no go... A few minutes later a different nurse came in and tried to get an IV in her hand... That was also a no go... It was about two hours later before another nurse from a different floor came in and got an IV going in her hand... Thank goodness but oooo that was so hard to see them try again and again on poor Lil Kiwi...

The upside to all of this screaming and fighting was that it finally took Lil Kiwi into some much needed napping.. Yes napping not sleep... It had been more than 24 hours since we both had sleep.. The down side to the napping... When she got up she was HAPPY and moving... I was holding on to her tubes and keeping them from getting tangled or pulled... During this she somehow popped open her pee tube TWICE and needed new sheets.. Then on the third time I got them to tape it shut.. THEN she had the tube come off her leg so more tape on leg... Oh it was a sight to behold.. However, she was happy and running laps in the crib so I was happy... This happy silliness provided me with some cute pictures for Wordless Wednesday next week... Make sure to visit next WW for the silliness..

It was great seeing her so happy although she still screamed if anyone touched the door... It was also then that I noticed Lil Kiwi started to chew on her IV... Before, it had sometimes seemed wet but I thought it was just my imagination or mmm lack of sleep... However, a quick talk to the nurses and they checked it and placed a sock over it to keep her from chewing on it... hmm you see how well that worked hehee...
The saga continues in next post.... If only I would have known then what was happening; this might have been the end of the saga...

Lil Kiwi Surgery Part II - The Awakening

I'm not a lover of hospital food and when you have to play a game of eenie-meenie-miney-moe to actually FIND the food court; your hopes are pretty low... Surprise surprise... We rounded the corner and what wonderful sights we did see... Subway, Starbucks, some pizza place, a Greek deli, and of course the food cafe'... I headed for some nice Greek gyros and then we realized the problem.. Amidst all the food booths there were NO CHAIRS... I mean come on.... We walked around following people with food hoping to find the secret food eating shrine... Finally, a security guard told us it was actually IN the food cafe' but that we are more than welcome to eat at the other dinning place right around the corner... Egads.. So, we shoveled now cold food and then rush upstairs hoping Lil Kiwi wasn't out of surgery yet.

Two hours had past since they took Lil Kiwi into surgery.... We sat in the waiting area for about another thirty minutes... It's amazing how time really does TICK by when it is your own child... Just as I was recounting the dots on the ceiling tiles, one of the nurses called us back and said "The surgery went perfectly... She's awake and not in a good mood you can head on back to room 8" ... as I was trying to help DH get Wee Man the nurse looked at me and said "Actually Mom if you just want to head on back there so we can get her under control that would be great."

Under control? What in the world could she mean... Lil Kiwi had just woken up from surgery and should have been still groggy...

I started for the room and heard.... "Mmmmmm *scream* Moooooooom *scream* " I'm not sure if the screams were her or the nurses...

As soon as I was within Lil Kiwi's eyesight the noise stopped and she was reaching for me... Yep that is my lil 16 lb ball of fury...

Propped up in a sorta smaller bed with tubes here and there... A nurse stood in the corner (yes she really was standing in the corner) waiting for me/us to get into the room before getting close to Lil Kiwi again... DH and Wee Man came in and that gave the nurse more courage to get what she needed to get done... She helped get Lil Kiwi into my lap and monitored her from there... Lil Kiwi took that first bottle of apple juice like she had just been on a 3 day hike in Death Valley with no water... A small burp and a little juice on mom.. Thanks kid... They put in a movie to pass the time.. It was half way through the movie "Cars" before they decided it was time to move her to her own real room... Back to the still too large bed and a few protests from Lil Kiwi... We made our way through the hospital; while the nurse wheeling her bed told us of how when she first started this job she use to bump the beds into corners, walls, doors, people... Thankfully, we only "bumped" two doors...

We headed into room 13... Awww I was feeling good because normally this is a lucky number for us... Then I saw the inside of room 13 and began to rethink my luck...


Lil Kiwi wasn't at all happy with the arrangements.. how sad she looks..

More of Lil Kiwi's recovery in next post... This is where things took a turn for the worst....

*on a side note... my surgery went fine and I am recovering quickly... and do pardon my grammar as I am still on pain meds*

Lil Kiwi Surgery Part I - The Tushie Cocktail

*Here is the day before... here is the first part of the surgery... here is part II .... here is part III ... and here is the last part...*

We are home from the hospital and gosh was it a long week... I want to thank everyone that sent such lovely emails and all the warm wishes sent our way...

Tuesday morning we got to the hospital at 9:30 am and sat around waiting to be called in... Around 10:50ish they call us back and we stood in "stall" number 2... The nurses comment about how big the bed is for such a little thing but that it's all they have available because all the small beds are being used...

I warned the nurses that Lil Kiwi is a bit moody with anyone that "might" be out to "harm" her... Perhaps they did not believe me because they tried to go about their jobs... However, they quickly realized that Lil Kiwi is a force to be reckoned with... Safely on the other side of the bed they handed me the gown... The normal questions were asked and we signed papers again and again... Then we saw Dr. V and he came over to let us know they were getting the room ready for her... He then "tried" to mark where he would be cutting but once again Lil Kiwi is quite a little handful... So, instead he got a mark on her knee and some at the incision sight.. Hehee

You can't blame her... Since before she was born we have been to doctor appointments for her (I had about 20 or so ultrasounds while pregnant with her) and then after birth doctor appointments left and right... We did do our best to keep her calm and centered but she knew something was going on...

They finally gave her a nice lovely tushie cocktail to relax her... It was only after she was feeling all love peace and happiness did they even put her ID bracelet on her foot... I have to admit I tried not to laugh (as did DH) but Lil Kiwi was a silly little monkey all loopy on drugs... When they came to get her the technician looked at her.... looked at the bed... then back at her and asked us if it was okay if he just carried her to the surgery room... We told him that was fine... She was so happy still that she smiled and grinned at him... I'm glad that as she went in she was happy and hopefully remained that way until she was completely under...

As for us... The three of us headed down to find some food and kill the hour or two of surgery time...

Will post the next part of the surgery in the next post...